Pharmaceutical Company Agrees To $17.5 Million Fine

HARTFORD, CT — A Kentucky-based pharmaceutical company agreed to pay a $17.5 million fine to settle allegations it paid kickbacks to patients and physicians for improper prescriptions.

Medicare Part D participants can be required to make a partial payment for their drugs and a federal law prohibits drug companies for paying copay obligations. US WorldMeds increased the price of its Apokyn drug around January 2012 and the cost for some patients exceeded more than $5,000 per year, according to the U.S. Attorney District of Connecticut office.

“Pharmaceutical companies and other healthcare providers that pay kickbacks to patients and physicians to improperly induce drug prescriptions drive up the costs of health care and divert critical resources from the Medicare program,” said U.S. Attorney John H. Durham for the District of Connecticut. “This case originated with the filing of whistleblower lawsuits currently pending in the District of Connecticut, and the whistleblowers will be handsomely rewarded for exposing this scheme."

The U.S. Attorney's office alleged that USWM illegally paid Medicare copays through a third-party foundation during which it was the only donor to the foundation's Parkinson's Disease fund and nearly all of the funds were spent on Apokyn patients.

U.S. Attorney's also alleged that USWM paid kickbacks to two physicians through excessive speaking and consulting fees and improper entertainment including trips to the Kentucky Derby.

The company's conduct will have to be reviewed by an independent party.